Universities Halt Classes for 1 Hour

All universities ceased studies for one hour today and held mass assemblies to protest the fate of Soviet scientist Benjamin Levich, and his son, Evgeny, to identify with the Soviet Jewish struggle, to mourn the murdered Kashkosh family and to protest the treatment of Jews in Iraq and Syria. Later today all university presidents met in Jerusalem to draft a declaration on these issues.

At the Haifa Technion, computer student Mira Kornblit, daughter of the prisoner of Zion, Lev Kornblit, spoke of the Leviches whom she knows personally. Technion President Alexander Goldberg also addressed the assembly. Reliable sources told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Technion has offered Benjamin Levich, one of the world’s top physical chemists, a chair in chemistry or in chemical engineering. The offer was transmitted to him some weeks ago.

Addressing a mass rally of students and professors at Tel Aviv University, Yuval Neeman, university president, said that the persecution of the Levich family is beyond description and is aimed at breaking the backbone of Russian academicians who want to emigrate to Israel. He appealed to all academic institutions throughout the world and to the international scientific community to exert pressure on Soviet authorities to relax their anti-Jewish persecution and permit Jews to leave Russia.

At Hebrew University, Michael Zand said the kidnapping of Jewish children in Russia had now been replaced by kidnapping of intellectuals. Hebrew University President Avraham Harman and an Iraqi student also spoke.